Novelty caps for writing instruments

ABSTRACT

A top for a writing instrument comprises a body of transparent material, an insert encapsulated within the body, and at least one display face defined by portions of the insert for displaying an image through the body to the exterior. The transparent material is advantageously a clear silicone rubber.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to caps for writing instruments or simplyfor positioning on the end of sticks to be used by children in play,said caps having amusement or play value, and to writing instruments orsticks equipped with such caps.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,875 discloses a felt pen having a bar-shaped mainbody and transparent caps for writing tips at opposed ends of the mainbody, the pen caps being arranged so that the pen can stand at eitherend.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,149,333 discloses a ball-point pen or other writinginstrument having a shaft about 10 mm in diameter and about 130 cm longwhich engages balls of rubbery elastic material at each end and ofdiameter about 35 mm, being hopefully large enough to minimise the riskof a ball being inadvertently swallowed by an infant, and one of theballs acting as the cap of the pen. When the pen is dropped or thrown,the balls cause the pen to bounce in an allegedly entertaining fashion.The balls are typically of a bright colour such as orange or red and maybe made of a conventional rubber or of a silicone rubber. Alternativesto a spherical shape include polyhedral shapes with indented surfaceslike the indentations of a golf-ball. The writing mechanism may be thatof a ball-point pen, a pen with a fibre-tip nib or a conventionalfountain pen mechanism.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Am object of the invention is to provide a novelty top or cap structurefor a pen or other writing instrument that has additional amusement orplay value.

In one aspect the invention provides a top or cap for a writinginstrument comprising a body of clear or transparent material, an insertencapsulated within the body, and at least one display face defined byportions of the insert for displaying an image through the body to theexterior.

The invention also relates to a writing instrument having a shaftprovided at one or both ends with a top or cap as aforesaid.

It is considered that a pen with a ball at one end can be dropped orthrown and will have amusing bounce characteristics also. Furthermorethe cap with the molded-in image-bearing inserts, which are easy tochange to present a range of e.g. collectable images, will haveamusement value independent of bounce.

BREIF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

How the invention may be put into effect will now be explained, by wayof example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a first embodiment of a penhaving a removable cap shown in alternative positions;

FIG. 2 is a view of one end of the pen with the cap fitted thereon;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view of one end of the pen with anencapsulatable insert and a pair of adhesive labels; and

FIGS. 4 a-4 c are a diagrammatic longitudinal section, underneath viewand transverse section of the cap;

FIG. 5 is a view of a two-part moldable-in insert for a secondembodiment of the pen and cap together with a clip for fitting into theinsert after it has been moulded into the transparent rubber;

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic transverse section of the cap with themoulded-in insert and the clip of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic longitudinal section of the cap with themoulded-in insert and the clip of FIG. 5 and with part of the peninserted into the cap.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As seen in FIG. 1, a generally ball-shaped pen-top 1 of diameter e.g.about 33 mm formed in a high-bounce grade of transparent silicone rubberhas a moulded-in insert 2 and is a snap fit onto an end of a writinginstrument such as a ball-point or fibre-tip pen 3. The insert 2 is of aplastics material having a higher melting point than the curetemperature of the silicone rubber and has a pair of oppositely directedfaces whose shape is complementary to the shape of the pen-top, in thisinstance circular. As is apparent from FIG. 4 b, when the insert isviewed in end profile the faces 2 a, 2 b are biconvex. Design-carryinglabels 4 are adhered to the opposed faces of the insert 2 before it isencapsulated in the silicone rubber to form the pen-top. Because of itsshape the clear rubber of the pen-top acts as a magnifier so thatahthough the image on the labels 4 are smaller than the ball, theyappear full-size or nearly so.

Various changes may, of course be made to the described embodimentwithout departing from the invention.

The body may be formed of any moldable optically clear plastics materialif the amusement value of the images is required but bouncecharacteristics are not, for example nucleated polypropylene,polystyrene, ethylene-α-olefin copolymers, polycarbonates, polysulphone,polyether sulphones, polyethylene terephthalate, glycol-modifiedpolyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate. As previouslyexplained, preferred are optically clear elastomers, e.g. siliconeelastomers which are frequently based on polydimethylsiloxane.

The insert may be of metal or plastics having a higher melting pointthan that of the body, and conveniently may be of e.g. acetal,polypropylene, hard rubber, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) ornylon. Instead of the use of adhesive labels 4, an image may if desiredbe printed directly onto the surfaces 2 a, 2 b using e.g. an ink jetprinter and an ink that is adherent to the insert 2.

Shapes other than spherical may be used for the cap, e.g. a cylindricalshape, and the moulded-in insert may have a single image-carryingsurface or it may have three or more image-carrying surfaces. The imagesmay be graphics, alphanumeric or a combination of alphanumerics andgraphics.

The writing instrument 3, whose dimensions are similar to the prior artpen may be a ball-pen, a roller-ball pen, a fibre-tipped pen, afelt-tipped pen, or a pencil. It may have a single ball top at one endor it may have a top at one end and a cap at the other, the shapes ofthe top and the cap being the same or different. Other possibilitiesinclude:

-   -   Single/double ball on the end of a stick    -   Single/double non ball shape on the end of a pen/stick for        playing a game (closest to wall, in a target zone etc)    -   3D Character molded in ball/shape as well as or in addition to        the use of a molded insert    -   Image on outside of ball/shape.

FIGS. 5-7 relate to a further embodiment wherein the insert for the topcomprises first and second abutting portions for assembly prior toformation e.g. by molding of the body of transparent material. In someembodiments, the insert may comprise an insert body e.g. ofpolycarbonate or other relatively rigid material and clip means ofnylon, ABS or other relatively resilient material snap located in theinsert body after formation of the body of transparent material.

In FIG. 5 a two-part molded-in insert comprises first and second halves10, 12 of polycarbonate or other suitable plastics material havingplanar abutting blind faces that locate together by means of pegs 14that are received in sockets 16. Part cylindrical concave surfaces areprovided on the blind faces of the insert halves 10,12 to define, whenthe insert is assembled, a pen-receiving cavity. The sides of thesurfaces 18 are bounded by planar surfaces 20 that are generallyparallel to but recessed below the abutting planar surfaces to defineclip-receiving spaces. The blind ends of surfaces 18 lead to cliplocation half sockets 22. Clip-retaining faces 24 are formed at theouter ends of the surfaces 22.

Also shown in FIG. 5 is a bifurcated spring clip 26 of ABS, nylon orother suitable plastics material having at its intended inner end alocating stud 28. When the transparent silicone rubber has been moldedaround the assembled insert 10,12, the clip can be inserted through theopen end of the cap into the cylindrical cavity, where its stud 28locates in the socket defined at 22, and its arms fit between thesurfaces 20 and snap locate behind the retaining faces 24.

To make a cap, the insert halves 10,12 are offered together after whichthe resulting cylindrical cavity defined by surfaces 18 receives a steelinsert for supporting the insert halves during the molding process andreducing or preventing deformation. The clear silicone rubber is thenmolded around the insert halves to form the outer portion of the cap,after which the steel insert is withdrawn and the spring clip isinserted into place. The pen 3 can then be fitted into the cap as shownin FIG. 7.

1. A top for a writing instrument comprising a body of transparentmaterial, an insert encapsulated within the body, and at least onedisplay face defined by portions of the insert for displaying an imagethrough the body to the exterior.
 2. The top of claim 1, wherein thebody comprises an elastomeric material.
 3. The top of claim 2, whereinthe body comprises a siloxane elastomer.
 4. The top of claim 1, whereinthe body is generally spherical.
 5. The top of claim 1, wherein theinsert comprises first and second abutting portions for assembly priorto formation of the body of transparent material.
 6. The top of claim 1,wherein the insert comprises an insert body and clip means snap locatedin the insert body after formation of the body of transparent material.7. The top of claim 1, wherein the display face carries a directlyapplied image.
 8. The top of claim 1, wherein the display face carries alabel having an image applied thereto.
 9. The top of claim 1, whereinthe body provides opposite first and second display faces.
 10. The topof claim 9, wherein the display faces are convex when the insert isviewed in end profile.
 11. A writing instrument or a stick having a topcomprising a body of transparent material, an insert encapsulated withinthe body, and at least one display face defined by portions of theinsert for displaying an image through the body to the exterior.
 12. Thewriting instrument of claim 11, having at each end a top or capcomprising a body of transparent material, an insert encapsulated withinthe body, and at least one display face defined by portions of theinsert for displaying an image through the body to the exterior.
 13. Atop for a writing instrument comprising a body of plastics materialmolded in the shape of a three-dimensional figure or molded in the shapeof a ball and carrying an image on the outside of the ball.
 14. The topof claim 13, wherein the figure is a character.
 15. The top of claim 13,wherein the body comprises a silicone rubber or other elastomer. 16-18.(canceled)
 19. The writing instrument of claim 11, wherein the bodycomprises an elastomeric material.
 20. The writing instrument of claim11, wherein the body comprises a siloxane elastomer.
 21. The writinginstrument of claim 11, wherein the body is generally spherical.
 22. Thewriting instrument of claim 11, wherein the body of transparent materialcomprises a plastic material molded in the shape of a three-dimensionalfigure.
 23. The writing instrument of claim 11, wherein the body oftransparent material comprises a plastic material molded in the shape ofa ball.